John Robert Martin

John was born in Limestone, Maine, to parents Billy J. and Ethel Ann Blanton Martin. An air force brat, John lived in at least a dozen places and had attended 18 different schools by the time he graduated. He received both his B.A. and M.A. from the University of South Carolina and had a long career in a variety of public service positions. He worked in Child Protective Services for a number of years and then for Midlands and Babcock Centers as a program director for physically and mentally challenged adults.

John will be remembered by his family and friends for his keen mind, a quick and pointed wit, and the ability to discourse at length on a truly mind-boggling number of subjects—politics, music, football, Marvel comics, and AI, just to name a few. In particular, John was deeply interested in the spiritual aspects of Native American traditions, something that meant a great deal to him in his adult years.

Everyone who knew John at all was keenly aware of his tender heart and his desire to be of help to friends and strangers alike. The tomatoes are a particularly striking example of this: John never ate them himself, but every year he enthusiastically planted them all over the back yard so he could give them away.

John was predeceased by his parents and is survived by his wife, Margaret (“Marnie”) MacFarlane Jackson, of Columbia; daughters Kimberly Morrow (Ray) of Hartsville and Elizabeth Hiller (Murray) of Aiken; five grandchildren (William, Austin, and Addison Morrow, and Kennedy and Ethan Hiller); and a brother, Matt Martin, of Burlington, Vermont.

John requested that no services or visitations be held but hoped that friends and family would remember him in their own particular ways. One way to honor his memory would be to vote Democratic in the next election. John would love you for that, but if you can’t manage it, well, he’ll love you anyway!